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Hey there, I am new to this Forum and just bought my first beemer two weeks ago. Its a 2001 BMW X5 4.4L. Everything worked fine till we got the stupid -45 degrees weather in Saskatchewan and I tried to start the vehicle and it wouldnt start. I waited a few days till it warmed up and still nothing. I towed to a buddies house with a heated garage and let it warm up for couple hours and it now started turning over. While turning it over I heard a bang. Popped the hood and looked around and noticed a big chunk of the valve cover was near the oil cap. I looked in the hole and the chain was broken. Would this be worth fixing? The engine was not evening running when it snapped so I am hoping there is no internal damages.

Its not the cold, just neglected maintenance...Will happen to most 4.4's from 180 to 240K...Unless the timing chain and guides get replaced, this is what will happen even under normal conditions! We see it here every day.

IMO not worth saving this motor. Even at low RPM you can still bend valves, so chances are you need a full head job. Not easy or cheap. If not done by the right mechanic, you can run into even MORE problems, seen it more than once.

Actually to think of it, I don't even know if the hole was even there before because the plastic cover was over the engine. Took the valve cover off today and it doesn't seem like the chain snapped but its loose.

Update on my X5. Took the vehicle to the shop and they took the motor apart. The chain snapped in two places on the driver side. The plastic timing chain guides crumbled in pieces. They removed the heads and 4 out of the 8 cylinders were shot. I then bought a motor for $3000 + $1400 labour, $280 for new water pump, belts + 250.00 for shop supplies & fluids + $130 for oil pan heater. Over $5000.00 what a costly one. My worries is that it will happen again. What other regular maintnance should I do to prevent this from happening? I was told that its common for those plastic guide rails crumbles apart and you will never know cause its all internal. The best way to see is to drop the oil pan to see if theres any plastic pieces in there.

Update on my X5. Took the vehicle to the shop and they took the motor apart. The chain snapped in two places on the driver side. The plastic timing chain guides crumbled in pieces. They removed the heads and 4 out of the 8 cylinders were shot. I then bought a motor for $3000 + $1400 labour, $280 for new water pump, belts + 250.00 for shop supplies & fluids + $130 for oil pan heater. Over $5000.00 what a costly one. My worries is that it will happen again. What other regular maintnance should I do to prevent this from happening? I was told that its common for those plastic guide rails crumbles apart and you will never know cause its all internal. The best way to see is to drop the oil pan to see if theres any plastic pieces in there.

Wow... $5000 worth of repairs.

The Truck has a wholesale value of $4800 with around 180K on it.
You might have been better off buying something else and stripping this thing for parts.

Sorry you had to go through this, just after you bought it.

Was the engine rebuilt or used for $3000?
You might want to consider driving it for the summer and selling it near winter time.

Timing chains in general usually out live the vehicle.
There are a few exceptions.... I didn't know the X5 was one of them...